


Diceros Bicornis

by TiredScienceBro



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adorable Hulk (Marvel), Bruce Banner Hulks Out, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gift Exchange, Hulk Smash (Marvel), Humor, Multi, POV Bruce Banner, POV Tony Stark, Polyamory, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros, Science Bros Secret Santa 2018, Wakanda (Marvel), receiving a pet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-01
Packaged: 2019-09-05 01:52:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16801327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiredScienceBro/pseuds/TiredScienceBro
Summary: Tony, Bruce, Thor and Valkyrie take a trip to Wakanda. While Tony is there for business the others enjoy some leisure time and take in the scenery. However, their peace is soon interrupted, resulting in the Hulk making an unconventional friend!





	Diceros Bicornis

**Author's Note:**

  * For [heyjupiter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/gifts).



> This is a gift for [Heyjupiter.](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyjupiter/pseuds/heyjupiter/) as part of the Science Bros 2018 Holiday Gift Exchange. It's my first time writing a polygamous relationship so I hope I did it well. You also asked for someone to receive a pet in your gift so enjoy the spin I put on that! I've had this idea since I saw Black Panther and I'm glad I was able to bring it to life!
> 
> Renata, I hope you enjoy!

“So, what does princess Shuri want to discuss with you?” Bruce asked as the Quinjet soared through the sky. Tony and Bruce had visited Wakanda several times on Avenger business, but this time they had be called on to discuss tech. 

“Not sure, just something she's been working on. Asked if I'd like to take a look. How could I refuse?” Tony looked over his shoulder at Thor and Valkyrie who were lounging in the passenger seats. “Plus it gives you guys an excuse to see Wakanda.” 

“Yes, thank you for inviting us, Stark,” Thor replied. 

“It’ll be nice to see a part of Midgard that isn't completely primitive,” Val jested. 

“Excuse me, who spent a thousand years living on a planet surrounded by trash?” Tony shot back. 

“You never saw Sakaar, it was actually quite beautiful. But point taken.”

“Okay, buckle up. We're going in,” Tony announced. 

He dove the quinjet towards the ground, flying in low on a direct course to the side of a cliff. It had terrified Bruce the first time Tony had done this, but now he used to it. Thor and Val, however, were in for a shock.

“Stark, I hope you know what you’re doing,” Thor said with a hint of worry on his voice as they flew closer and closer to the the cliff.

Bruce looked sideways at Tony and could see the mischievous grin on his face. He also noticed Tony intentionally accelerating as they barrelled towards the cliffs. 

Val let out a scream of excitement as the Quinjet passed straight through the cliffs as if they weren’t even there.

“I remember why we keep you around,” she said. “That was amazing!”

“Yes, very funny, Stark,” Thor said recovering.

Bruce didn’t have a response, he was too busy marveling at the sight before them. The hidden city of Wakanda in all it’s beauty, perfectly tucked away. The technology it must take to hide something this big was indescribable. No matter how many times he saw it, it never stopped impressing him.

The city itself shone on the edge of the lake, nestled at the base of the mountains with sweeping valleys all around it.

Both Thor and Val had unbuckled themselves and were staring out the front of the ship. 

“It’s beautiful,” Val whispered. “It’s almost like-”

“Asgard,” Thor stated, finishing her sentence. 

Tony took them down to the landing pad where King T’Challa waited, surrounded by several of his guards. He greeted them eloquently and directed them inside. 

He turned to address Thor and Val. “While you are here, please feel free to look around the city or valley.” Then he turned to Tony and Bruce to inform them, “Mr Stark, Doctor Banner, my sister is waiting for you in her lab.”

Bruce made to follow Tony but Thor tapped him on the shoulder. 

“Banner, we are going for a walk in the valley. Care to join us?” Thor asked with a grin. 

Bruce was torn, on one hand he wanted to stay with Tony and Shuri to talk tech, but a walk in the valley with Thor and Val sounded beautiful. 

“Go with them,” Tony said, squeezing his hand. 

“Are you sure?” Bruce asked. 

“Of course, it’ll be nice. I’ll join you when I’m finished here.” Tony lent in and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, whispering, “Go have fun with them,” into his ear. 

Bruce gave him one last smile before thanking T’Challa. He turned and headed towards the exit with Thor and Val, Thor wrapping an arm around his shoulders as they walked.

The valley was beautiful, as expected. The grass was thick and lush and all around them the mountains reached up to sky; it was paradise. After a stroll, they chose a spot that overlooked several small farms and an enclosure where a herd of rhinos where lazily enjoying the sun. 

They sat down together in shade of a tree, Bruce laying down so his head was in Val’s lap. She ran her hands through his hair soothingly. Bruce sighed contently—it was nice to be away from the noise of New York. 

“What are those?” Val asked, pointing at the rhinos down below. 

“Uhh,” Thor hummed, clearly trying to recall their names himself. 

“Diceros bicornis,” Bruce answered, opening his eyes. Both Thor and Val were giving him confused looks. “Rhinoceros, or rhinos for short. Animals native to this continent,” he clarified. Tony would have appreciated his attempt to show off with the scientific name. 

“Ah yes! I remember now,” Thor said happily. “Rhinos. We saw one in that zoo you took me to once, Banner.” 

Bruce nodded. “But the zoo in New York doesn’t have a space as nice as this. I bet they’re really happy out here.” 

“What do you do with them?” Val asked after a short moment. “Ride them?” 

Thor’s smile suddenly widened to a grin as he turned to Bruce. “Yes! Banner, can we ride them?” 

“What? No!” Bruce said, laughing. “You don’t ride them, they’re just animals. They don’t do anything.” 

Thor deflated at hearing this but Val remained strong. “Then why do they have _saddles?_ ” She asked skeptically. 

Bruce sat up and looked down at the enclosure and saw that, indeed, several of the rhinos were wearing large leather saddles.

“Uh, I suppose the Wakandans use them for something, farming or...” 

“Fighting!” Thor said happily, tapping Bruce’s side excitedly and pointing with his other hand.

Now the Wakandans had brought out a selection of what appeared to be armour. It gleamed in the sun and clattered as they laid it out on the ground. 

The three of them watched curiously as a rhino was led out, and how it allowed the tamers to strap large pieces of vibranium armor to it. It licked playfully at their hands as they fitted the straps around its head.

“Cute,” Bruce remarked. 

Inside the enclosure a commotion was breaking out between the other rhinos.

Thor’s brow furrowed. “What’s going on?” 

Several Wakandans were shouting and pointing while another one jumped out of the pen. Something had spooked the rhinos being housed, there and they were stomping around angrily. 

“They’re not happy about something,” Bruce observed watching as the rhinos begun to gallop around.

“Should we do something?” Valkyrie asked. 

“No,” Thor said. “Let them handle it. It’s not our place to intervene.” 

They continued to watch as one of the larger rhinos tore through the fence while one of the tamers attempted to calm it but they were knocked aside. Things were starting to get out of hand now as several more were attempting to escape through the newly formed gap in the fence.

They were all sitting up now, watching as more and more of the rhinos tore through the fence.

“They’re all escaping now!” Valkyrie yelled. “We can’t just sit here.”

“I agree, now we should do something,” Thor stated. “Wait here, Banner.”

Leaping into action, both Thor and Valkyrie jumped from the cliff down towards the escaping rhinos. 

Bruce watched as Thor attempted to calm the rhinos, catching them as they charged at him. With the help of the tamers, they herded some of them back into the enclosure but a small breakaway group was evading their capture.

Val was wrestling with the fence so that the rhinos couldn’t escape again once they were returned. 

From his vantage point, Bruce could see that some of the smaller rhinos were getting close to the river.

He bit his lip, if one of them fell in they wouldn't be able to get out and Thor was too distracted by the others to notice. 

He couldn't let it happen, and he didn't want to see one of them hurt when he could have done something to stop it. Breathing heavily, he ran to the cliff and dove off of it, giving in to the Hulk. 

The Hulk hit the ground, causing it to shake underneath him. He looked around and saw where Banner was trying to direct his attention. He lept through the air to where the strange creatures were and caught one just before it was about to jump into the water. 

Another one was startled by his appearance and tried to run away but he managed to reach out and seize it under his arm as well. 

He heard the Angry Girl's voice calling to him and he turned to see her waving at him from the other side of the field. 

He carried the two rhinos under his arms, their legs kicking in the air as they attempted to break free. Thor carried one aloft over his head and greeted the Hulk with a smile. Val had pulled the fence back into position and, together with several of the keepers, had secured the exit. 

Thor placed his rhino gently back down into the pen and the Hulk followed his lead, laying the two down and watching as one ran back towards the herd. The other one looked up at him curiously. 

Thor leaned in and petted the creature gently. “There we go, home safe and sound.” 

The Hulk followed his lead, reaching in so he could run his hand hand along it. It looked at him excitedly and butted his hand with its head before running back toward the others. 

___

Tony saw where the commotion had been and flew down to make sure nothing had happened to the others. He could see Bruce had transformed, but thankfully the Hulk was standing calmly next to Thor.

“Everything okay here?” Tony asked, his suit retracting as he landed next to them. 

“All taken care of,” Thor replied. “Thanks to the Hulk.” 

Tony gave a nod of approval before looking up the Hulk, whose eyes were fixed on the rhinos. 

“Tony,” the Hulk said without looking at him. 

“What's up, big guy?” He was still not used to the Hulk using his name and actually speaking. 

“Hulk want,” he said pointing into the rhino pen. 

“W-what?” Tony asked not quite understanding what the Hulk had meant. 

“Hulk. Want.” He repeated, pointing again. 

Tony looked out over the pen where the rhinos were now grazing calmly. 

“You want a rhino?” Tony asked, dumbfounded. 

“Rhi-no,” Hulk rumbled clearly saying the word for the first time. 

“Hate to break it to you, big guy, but no can do. They belong to someone else.” 

“C'mon Stark,” Thor stated, putting his hand around Tony's shoulders. “Would it be that bad?”

“I'm sorry, and where do you think we're keeping this rhino?” 

“There's plenty of room at the complex,” Val replied, appearing on his other side and slipping an arm around his waist. 

Apparently neither of them could see a single issue with keeping a full grown rhino. He supposed this was what he got being in a relationship with two gods and a giant green monster. The standard for what was domestically acceptable was in a world of its own. He looked around as all three of them stared at him pleadingly. 

“We can't just keep a deadly animal at the facility with us,” Tony attempted to argue once again. 

“Why not? The Hulk lives there,” Val stated, raising an eyebrow.

Tony was speechless; he couldn't believe that he was being the voice of reason. “You two are such a bad influence,” he said with a laugh. 

“Would you like to ride one?” One of the tamers asked, approaching them. “It is tradition of the Border Tribe to use rhinos in battle, but we do ride them for leisure sometimes.”

“Yes!” Thor and Valkyrie replied at the same time. 

Once a few of the rhinos had been wrangled and saddled up Thor and Valkyrie stood by them, eagerly listening to instructions from the tamer. Tony had declined politely, stating that he would stay with the Hulk while they watched the other two, but really he was thankful to have an excuse to not make a fool of himself trying to keep up with the others.

The Hulk tugged nudged Tony, pushing him over slightly. 

“Hulk ride too?” He asked. 

Tony looked up and down at him. He wanted to be able to say yes but the Hulk’s size would just be too much for a rhino. “Sorry, big guy, this is a human sized activity. Perhaps if you changed back into-”

The Hulk exhaled loudly and crossed his arms. 

“Okay, okay, forget I mentioned it,” Tony said, putting his hands in the air defensively. 

They watched as Thor and Val climbed up and urged the rhinos forward. It wasn’t long before they were galloping around at faster speeds and we're venturing out further from the enclosure.

Tony looked sympathetically up at Hulk, he could tell how restless he was, simply wanting to join his friends. 

Then across the field, near the tree line, something had caught the Hulk’s attention. 

“That one,” the Hulk said pointing. “Hulk sized.” 

Tony craned his neck to get a glimpse of what the Hulk was pointing at. To his surprise the Hulk was right, standing by itself was the biggest rhino Tony had ever seen. Easily twice the size of any of the others.

“Tony,” the Hulk said again, looking down at him, “ _please_.” 

Tony’s eyes widened in disbelief, did the Hulk really just say please? How could he possibly say no now?

“Excuse me, Mr. Rhino Tamer Man,” Tony called as politely as possible. “My big green friend here obviously has a size issue, but what about that one over there?” 

“Ah, that is Bashenga, named for the mountain that is strong and unyielding. He protects all of his family, but will not allow any of us to approach.” 

“Hulk want ride!” The Hulk said, stamping his foot. 

Without waiting to hear a response the Hulk stomped off towards Bashenga.

“Hulk, stop!...please… “ Tony called, but he knew it was pointless. 

They watched as the Hulk approached Bashenga, stomping loudly as he approached. It was clear that Bashenga was wary of the Hulk’s approach, keeping his gaze fixed on this unknown intruder. 

Tony gasped as he watched the events unfolded. The Hulk got too close and Bashenga charged, attempting to ram the Hulk. The Hulk easily caught the him, stopping him the beast at arm’s reach.

Tony was about to suit up so he could intervene, more to save Bashenga from a Hulk tantrum. But the Hulk wasn’t angry, he reached out and rubbed his hand gently along the underside of Bashenga’s head. Bashenga begun to soften, backing off and allowing the Hulk to pet him more. 

“Well, you see something new everyday,” the tamer said at Tony’s side. He called something in Wakandan to the other tamers. They disappeared into the hut before returning with a huge saddle.

It wasn’t long before the Hulk was galloping around atop Bashenga, laughing with joy. Tony leaned against the fence speechless at what was happening before him but he was thankful the Hulk was able to have some fun after all.. Thor and Valkyrie returned soon after and cheered at the sight of the Hulk. 

“Well done, Stark!” Thor called. “You found a way to let the big guy have some fun.”

“Actually, this was all him,” Tony said gesturing at the Hulk. “Figured it out all by himself.” 

“So come on then,” Valkyrie said with a wink. “Join us.” 

“Nope,” Tony replied shaking his head. “Nothing’s getting me on one of them.” 

“Aww, c’mon,” she teased, “where’s your sense of adventure?” 

“Right here,” he said tapping the nano bot container on his chest. “I’ll stick to flying.” 

The Hulk was steering towards them now. “Tony ride?” He asked. 

Tony looked up, he didn’t think the Hulk could get any bigger, but apparently he was wrong. He towered overhead astride the huge rhino. “No, not this time buddy. You and Rocksteady there have fun with the others.” 

“Tony ride!” The Hulk repeated, but it was not a question this time. 

He reached down and before Tony could escape the Hulk had grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him up, placing Tony between his legs so he was sitting at the front of the saddle. He then placed his arms either side of Tony, gripping the handles in front of them.

Tony let out a small gasp of fear and tried to find something to grip onto. It was high, and felt unsteady, which made him feel uneasy. He had never been a fan of riding any kind of animal. 

Both Thor and Valkyrie laughed at the sight of him nestled between the Hulk’s arms. But Val rode up alongside him and gave him a comforting smile. “You'll be okay.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Tony replied nervously, “This is fine, as long as we go slow-”

But before Tony could finish the sentence the Hulk had urged Bashenga forward. They took of at an alarming speed and Tony let out another nervous shout but as soon as he did he felt the Hulk’s arm pull in tight around him, securing him in place. 

“Tony not be scared, Hulk protect.”

He exhaled a few times to calm himself and realised that with the Hulk’s arms securing him in place the was no way he could fall. He relaxed and looked up at the landscape as it rushed past them. It was such a beautiful place and despite how unconventional their mode of transport he was happy to be with the Hulk. 

“You’re really good at this!” Tony yelled as the Hulk steered them along a track. 

The Hulk let out a noise of appreciation and Tony leaned back into his huge chest so he was tightly secured. 

They rode together for the best part of the hour before returning to the enclosure. 

The Hulk climbed down to the ground before reaching up and helping Tony to dismount. Tony touched the ground was held steady by Val as he regained his balance. 

The Hulk reluctantly said goodbye and ran his hands over Bashenga's head one last time before he suddenly started to shrink down back into Bruce. Thor was quick to react, catching Bruce in his arms and helping him gently to the ground. 

“What happened?” Bruce asked groggily, looking up at them. “Did we save them?”

Before anyone could answer, Bashenga moved to Bruce’s side, nudging him softly with his nose. 

Bruce appeared startled at first but when he realised the rhino was friendly, he petted him gently. Bashenga responded by licking Bruce’s face playfully. 

“Okay,” Bruce responded with a laugh, “I like you too.” 

One of the tamers had run over with a blanket for Bruce to wrap around himself. Once he was covered Thor helped him to his feet before Bashenga gave him one last nudge and trotted off. 

Much to Bruce’s protest, Thor hoisted him off his feet and started carrying him back towards the city, insisting he wasn’t going to allow Bruce to walk without shoes.

Tony and Val walked hand in hand, describing what had happened between the Hulk and Bashenga and the resulting ride around Wakanda with Tony. 

“Sounds like the Hulk had a fun time,” Bruce concluded.

“We’re staying for a few days,” Thor offered. “Perhaps we can go visit the rhinos again, and you can have a go.” 

Bruce shook his head and pulled the blanket closer around him. “I’ll leave that stuff to you guys and the Hulk. Right now I’d just like to rest.” 

Thor nodded and pulled him in closer to his chest. Seeing Bruce being looked after by Thor made Tony smile and he squeezed Val’s hand tighter. He was so lucky to have all of them.

**Author's Note:**

> We’re both part of a [Science Bros discord](https://discord.gg/yrs2ZjU), if anyone is interested in joining.


End file.
